ANAHEIM — They begin their supercross careers just hoping they can grow facial hair.

Baby-faced James Stewart Jr. still might not need to shave every day, but the two-time Monster Energy Supercross series champion has appeared to have acquired enough of a growth that he finally can be content in his sport.

“I’m not just going to come up here and say, `Ah, dude, I feel like winning today,”‘ the 24-year-old said. “You have to say some other thing to engage people in the sport and make them check it out. It’s been a pretty big step for me.”

After five years of racing in the top 450cc class, Stewart has taken on a leadership role.

“I have matured and grown up as a racer and a leader in the sport,” Stewart said. “Two years ago, I could not have handled this role.

“Just being the supercross champion, there is a lot of leadership involved and this year I’ve really stepped outside of the box. When you start getting a leadership role, you have to do different things and take opportunities you normally wouldn’t do.”

Stewart, who edged Chad Reed by four points to win last season’s crown, still talks about victories and winning titles. But he seemingly no longer is focused on just himself, his San Manuel band of Indians team or his Yamaha bike. During Thursday’s season-opening news conference at Angel Stadium, Stewart described how he wants to give back to his sport and keep the supercross industry healthy.

Several insiders within the sport agree that Stewart, from Haines City, Fla., has found a firm footing in gradually changing from a rider who routinely blew off commitments.

Perhaps 2009 was a factor in that change. He fell behind the series leaders by 23 points after the traditional Anaheim season opener after colliding with Reed and Kevin Windham and was knocked out of the race. He won seven consecutive races to take the points lead but fell at Indianapolis, Daytona and St. Louis to lose the lead to Reed by 11 points. He regained the lead with two races to go and went into the Las Vegas finale six points ahead of Reed. Stewart finished just behind his challenger to win the title, his first since 2007.

“It made it gratifying to do that,” he said. “It was honestly the best thing to happen to me for my career and myself. It was difficult because I had to win. I couldn’t get second. When the pressure was on, I was the one who prevailed and got it done.”

Then there was the offseason filming of his reality television show tentatively titled “Bubba’s World,” which is scheduled to begin airing March 28 on Fuel TV.

“It was things I wouldn’t normally do,” he said. “It was difficult for the family because cameras were following you around everywhere.”

The move to the San Manuel team last year also led to his change, he said.

“It made me carry myself differently,” he said. “These guys would come in Sunday after being here to 1 in the morning to work. Seeing that from team made it rewarding.

“It’s hard to be a leader in this sport when you have all these obligations, but when I have time I gave back to my sport. It was great.”

Despite the new outlook, nothing has changed for the first African-American to win a major motorsports championship. It’s still about winning races and titles.

“There is a lot of pressure when you become a leader, but what occupies you is all these guys trying to take the ring off your finger,” he said. “For me, it was not hard to be motivated coming into the season.”

That means, he said, the season, which begins tonight with the first of three Angel Stadium races, will be as tough as ever. He expects challenges again from his nemesis Reed, along with Ryan Villopoto and Ryan Dungey, who makes the move from Lites to the main event. Other top opponents include Josh Grant and Josh Hill.

“My style is the reason I win races,” he said. “If I didn’t want to crash, I probably would get second every night. I think this year you’ll see more guys falling than they normally have because now people want to go out and win.”

Will the Stewart-Reed rivalry heat up again?

“James was the best rider last year,” Reed said. “He deserved to win the title. But the two of us worrying about each other isn’t going to get the job done.”

Said Stewart: “The rivalry is there, but there are a lot of guys occupying our time other than us getting at each other.”